Overview

After earning rave notices for powerful supporting turns as a pimp in Street Smart 1987 and an alcohol abuse counselor in Clean and Sober 1988, actor Morgan Freeman began his ascent to stardom with this, his first lead role in a major motion picture. Freeman is real-life high school principal Joe Clark, a tough, harsh educator and administrator who in 1987 is given a nearly impossible task by his old friend, school superintendent Dr. Frank Napier Robert Guillaume. Clark is asked to reform inner city Eastside High...

DVD Very good REFURBISHED media (Disk) with no marks or scratches. Media cartridge, if applicable, appears functional. Packaging may show slight signs of wear as may the cover ...art, liner notes and inserts. Ultaviolet Digital Copy Code, if applicable, is not Valid/Available.Read moreShow Less

Sloane Shelton, Sandra Reaves-Phillips, Ethan Phillips, Michael Beach, Robin Bartlett, Lynne Thigpen, Alan North, Robert... 10/20/1998 DVD Good 1989 Run time: 108. Connecting ...viewers with great movies since 1972. All used discs are inspected and guaranteed. Used discs may not include digital content. Customer service is our top priority!Read moreShow Less

Sloane Shelton, Sandra Reaves-Phillips, Ethan Phillips, Michael Beach, Robin Bartlett, Lynne Thigpen, Alan North, Robert... 10/20/1998 DVD Good 1989 Run time: 108. Connecting ...viewers with great movies since 1972. All used discs are inspected and guaranteed. Used discs may not include digital content. Customer service is our top priority!Read moreShow Less

Sloane Shelton, Sandra Reaves-Phillips, Ethan Phillips, Michael Beach, Robin Bartlett, Lynne Thigpen, Alan North, Robert... 10/20/1998 DVD Good 1989 Run time: 108. Connecting ...viewers with great movies since 1972. All used discs are inspected and guaranteed. Used discs may not include digital content. Customer service is our top priority!Read moreShow Less

Sloane Shelton, Sandra Reaves-Phillips, Ethan Phillips, Michael Beach, Robin Bartlett, Lynne Thigpen, Alan North, Robert... 10/20/1998 DVD Good 1989 Run time: 108. Connecting ...viewers with great movies since 1972. All used discs are inspected and guaranteed. Used discs may not include digital content. Customer service is our top priority!Read moreShow Less

Sloane Shelton, Sandra Reaves-Phillips, Ethan Phillips, Michael Beach, Robin Bartlett, Lynne Thigpen, Alan North, Robert... 10/20/1998 DVD Good 1989 Run time: 108. Connecting ...viewers with great movies since 1972. All used discs are inspected and guaranteed. Used discs may not include digital content. Customer service is our top priority!Read moreShow Less

Sloane Shelton, Sandra Reaves-Phillips, Ethan Phillips, Michael Beach, Robin Bartlett, Lynne Thigpen, Alan North, Robert... 10/20/1998 DVD Good 1989 Run time: 108. Connecting ...viewers with great movies since 1972. All used discs are inspected and guaranteed. Used discs may not include digital content. Customer service is our top priority!Read moreShow Less

Sloane Shelton, Sandra Reaves-Phillips, Ethan Phillips, Michael Beach, Robin Bartlett, Lynne Thigpen, Alan North, Robert... 10/20/1998 DVD Good 1989 Run time: 108. Connecting ...viewers with great movies since 1972. All used discs are inspected and guaranteed. Used discs may not include digital content. Customer service is our top priority!Read moreShow Less

1998 DVD Very good ITEMS NORMALLY SHIP IN 24 HOURS. SATISFACTION GUARANTEED. SOME DLC CODES AND DIGITAL COPY CODES MAY HAVE ALREADY BEEN REDEEMED. SUPER NINTENDO, NINTENDO, ...GAMEBOY, GAMEBOY ADVANCE AND GENESIS GAMES ARE MOSTLY CARTRIDGE ONLY. SOME NINTENDO DS/3DS GAMES ARE CARTRIDGE ONLY AS WELL. EMAIL US FOR ANY QUESTIONS. RETURN POLICY ON SELLER PAGE. TRACKING NUMBER IS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST FOR ITEMS DELIVERED IN THE US.Read moreShow Less

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Overview

After earning rave notices for powerful supporting turns as a pimp in Street Smart 1987 and an alcohol abuse counselor in Clean and Sober 1988, actor Morgan Freeman began his ascent to stardom with this, his first lead role in a major motion picture. Freeman is real-life high school principal Joe Clark, a tough, harsh educator and administrator who in 1987 is given a nearly impossible task by his old friend, school superintendent Dr. Frank Napier Robert Guillaume. Clark is asked to reform inner city Eastside High School in Paterson, NJ, a hotbed of delinquent kids and drug dealers. Considered the worst school in New Jersey, the state is threatening to take control of Eastside away from the local school board. If Clark can straighten out Eastside in time to get the school's basic-skills test scores up, he can have the job permanently. Although Clark's tyrannical approach and hard-line policies alienate many members of the staff and the community, his uncompromising campaign gets results and even makes him famous, much to the chagrin of his powerful enemies.

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Morgan Freeman's first big starring role as real-life no-nonsense principal Joe Clark, a man who revitalized a Paterson, New Jersey, school of miscreants, seemed tailor-made for the veteran actor. A tightly woven, uplifting story that tugs at the heartstrings Lean on Me is powered by Freeman's tour de force performance. Director John Avildsen does a nice job of capturing a sense of urban decay by giving the picture a dark, gritty feel, and the film is further strengthened by its young cast, many of whom would go on to bigger and better projects (Michael Imperioli, for example, enjoyed later success in HBO's The Sopranos). Freeman, however, is truly the heart and soul of this picture, and his work in it would serve to open all of Hollywood's eyes to his often under-appreciated talents. While Lean on Me is a pleasant human interest story and well-made film, it will largely be remembered as the picture that helped to herald Freeman's arrival as a major player on the big screen.

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Anonymous

Posted June 7, 2003

9 out of 10

Absolutely beautiful picture. Very uplifting acting by Morgan Freeman. Actually, to tell you the truth, Morgan's role as Joe Clark should have been on the AFI Top 50 heroes. Oh well...politics through AFI have left me angry. Also, my observation is that Morgan should have been nominated for Academy Award for best actor. He can't win it because he can't defeat Daniel Day Lewis's work in My Left Foot, no way or how. Morgan also in the film achieved a breakthrough and had himself lept to stardom through better and more powerful films such as Driving Miss Daisy and Shawshank Redemption. There is no denying the fact that Morgan Freeman has claimed himself as one of the most great African American actors ever to appear on a silver screen. This movie is definitely a Rocky type movie, ironically made by John G Avildson who also made Rocky. Well done and high praise for allowing this movie to be produced and show others that people can change, no matter how hopeless the situation looks.

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